What are the chances? Bookies slash odds on Zuma’s departure ahead of the vote

This is no ordinary day in South Africa...

Yes, for those of you wondering, you really can bet on the outcome of today’s no confidence vote, proving there is a market for everything.

Punters yet to back the president’s ousting may well be kicking themselves though, as odds have tumbled in the last week or so.

Odds on Jacob Zuma being voted out

Essentially, Jacob Zuma to stay is the firm favourite. Bookies calculate that there is a 73% chance of him holding on to power. Yet this is no foregone conclusion…

Zuma was as far back as 9.0 (8/1) earlier in the no confidence fallout, and his dismissal has always been the rank outsider choice given that he is still seen to have a majority of support from ANC MPs.

However, there is something about this vote that mirrors two of the biggest political shocks in recent memory. At the same point before Britain’s Brexit vote, the odds on them to leave the European Union were actually longer than the current odds on Zuma to be voted out.

When Donald Trump seized the presidency in the USA, his odds were also longer than the ones stacked against JZ just hours before their election.

Bet on No Confidence Vote

Here’s what SportingBet.co.za are offering:

Will the vote of no confidence force Jacob Zuma out of office?

Decimal:YES: 3.5NO: 1.285Winnings: R100 on yes will make you R350, whereas R100 on no will earn you R128.50. (This applies to every type of odds listed)

Fraction:YES: 5/2NO: 2/7

Percentage:YES: 27%NO: 73%

When is the no confidence vote?

Make sure you are glued to a stream (on our site soon), a TV or your computer from 2 pm onwards, as that is when the proceedings are scheduled to begin.